Hey Afaconados!
For Day Two in Rome, my bestie and I knew the first place on our list of places to visit would be St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. It was Wednesday, and we could NOT have picked a better time to visit. The Pope holds what is called a “Papal Audience” on Wednesday mornings, so if he’s in Rome, you and thousands of others get a chance to see him as he holds his audience in St. Peter’s Square. This had to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen…thousands of people from all over the world, gathered in one place. I felt so lucky to be there at that time to witness it.
We did our research prior to leaving for our trip so we were well aware that women are not allowed to enter St. Peter’s Square without being “conservatively” dressed. That means either jeans or a long skirt (well past the knees) and a tee or long sleeved shirt. Shoulders are not allowed to be shown, but scarves are permitted as a coverup if you have on a tank top. Shorts are not allowed for either men or women…Period. The Vatican, after all, is considered a holy place and attire is taken quite seriously. During my “outfit auditions” for the trip, I planned what I thought would be the perfect outfit for my visit to the Vatican and could not wait to rock my Conservative Chic look. What I wound up with was a chambray top, khaki pants and gladiator sandals (when in Rome right?).
After observing the Papal Audience and stopping off for a cup of cappuccino (with pastry of course), my bestie and I made our way through St. Peter’s Square to visit the Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museum). This enormous museum is home to some of the most priceless pieces of art in the world…literally thousands of sculptures, paintings and tapestries are contained within its walls. The piéce de résistance at the end of the tour is the Sistine Chapel, which features THE most famous ceiling in the world…a ceiling painted by artist Michelangelo between the years 1508 – 1512 (geez that’s a long time ago) which includes “The Last Judgement”, a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final judgement by God of all humanity. I can only tell you that it was an unbelievable experience to marvel at the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, and that it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. You won’t be seeing any pictures posted by me of the ceiling because taking pictures is strictly forbidden…and there are plenty of guards on hand (with guns I might add) to enforce it.
Here are the details of my outfit:
Shirt: Denim Blue Shirt // $16 at Target
Pants: Chino Pant // $25 at Target
Shoes: Gladiator Sandals (old)
Bag: Philip Lim for Target Mini Satchel // $35 at Target
And here’s my outfit:
In front of St. Peter’s Basilica during the Pope’s Papal Audience
There’s always time for jumping!
Notice that there aren’t any other museum pictures after the picture of me on my way to the Sistine Chapel. That’s because the tour pretty much ended after we saw that…what else in that museum could have topped that?
Our next stop for Day Two in Rome was The Fontana di Trevi, or Trevi Fountain. You’ll have to tune in tomorrow for details.
Until next time!
